Jones not worried by Hatters’ first half blanks at Kenilworth Road

Mike Simmonds

Hatters boss Nathan Jones isn’t overly fussed by his side’s lengthy run without scoring a first half goal at Kenilworth Road.

The Town chief has yet to see his side net before the break since taking over, as the last time Luton managed to was when Paul Benson hit the target in the 4-3 defeat against Northampton Town back on December 12, some six game ago now.

Despite that stat, results have picked up under Jones at home, with Luton leaving it late before beating both Hartlepool and Morecambe in their last two fixtures.

When asked about breaking their duck when Crawley visit tomorrow, the boss said: “All I hope is that we turn up and we win the game. How I’d like to do it and how if it happens, it happens is irrelevant, because Crawley are going to be a big, stern test.

“So however we have to go about our business, we’re going to concentrate on us.

“However I would like it is another thing. I would like us to win the next 11 games, but whether that happens is another thing. We just concentrate on putting in a performance, trying to get three points, in the 96, 97 minutes, however long it is.

“Hopefully we would have scored at least one more goal than Crawley to have won the game, so I can’t say how I’d like it to happen, because invariably, that never happens.”

Jones is well versed in the strengths and weaknesses of Town’s opponents though having watched them plenty of times when first team coach at Brighton & Hove Albion.

He continued: “Coincidentally, I’ve seen quite a lot of Crawley as when I was at Brighton they were my local club to watch lower league games, as I always had a an eye on all leagues.

“I watched Crawley quite a lot. The first game I took over here, I watched them play Cambridge and then I’ve watched them five or six times in recent weeks.

“So I’ve got them well covered, I know the players they’ve got there, one or two I know in Shamir Fenelon, and Matt Harrold, Lee Barnard, people I’ve played against and one or two I’ve played with.

“So I’ve got a good knowledge of Crawley and there shouldn’t be any excuses that we’re not prepared.”

The Red Devils have struggled since the turn of the year, losing six of the 11 matches to drop to 17th in the table.

However, off the field, they are now under new owners with Ziya Eren taking over the club this week, but whether that would lead to an upturn in results, Jones added: “That might give them a boost, I don’t know, I can’t comprehend how they’re planning, what they’re working on, what their mindset might be going into the game.

“All I can do is prepare our team to try and win a football match. We’re in decent form, we’ll respect Crawley, we’ll know the threats they have but we have to be right at it and we have to put in a performance that’s good enough for Luton Town.

“I’m sure if we do that and we’re right at it from the first moment, then it gives us a better opportunity to get a better result.”

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